[SOLVED] 8GB DDR2 1066 vs 4GB DDR3 1333

[Jack63SS]

My question is about DDR2 vs DDR3. I searched the forum and read some comments about the differences, but they didn't quite answer my question. I have a system with 4GB DDR3 1333 in it. It works pretty well, but recently I noticed an issue with a game where it would hesitate for a second, and then continue. I ran a bunch of tools to see if I could figure it out, and the cpu and disk usage was okay, but it was sometimes running at 95% memory utilization.
So, how much performance would I lose if I switched to 8GB DDR2 1066 and under what conditions would I notice it most ? And for the $50-60 it would cost, is it worth it to just have more memory ?

Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 CPU
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 video card
120gb SSD & 250gb SATA disks

Thanks
Jack

 

[COLGeek]

DDR2 and DDR3 are not interchangeable. The slots they go in are different.

There are old motherboards (like yours) that have slots for each, but you can only use one type of memory at a time. I don't believe you would see much, if any, performance difference changing your memory.

You would be better served by saving your money to build a modern system.

 

[Third-Eye]

The difference between DDR2 1066 and DDR3 1066 isn't much, probably 1-3% difference, but 1333 is noticeable. If you don't feel comfortable overclocking, 1066Mhz is the highest your Ram will clock, whether DDR2 or 3, based on the 266Mhz FSB and 9x CPU multiplier for 2.4Ghz. You would need to overclock the Q6600 to 3Ghz to use 1333Mhz and 3.6Ghz to use 1600 which would be 333Mhz and 400Mhz FSB.

 

[Jack63SS]

Thanks for the info. The board has 2 DDR3 slots and 4 DDR2 slots, so I do have options (although I can't mix types). And I have attempt to overclock this board already without success, so I'll have to be content with 1066. Given the cost is less than $50 I'll probably go to 4xDDR2 1066.